Netflix Adaptation of Death Note Is A Disappointment

Posted on August 26, 2017

Irrelevant soundtrack, vague script, lazy acting and much more is wrong with the Netflix adaptation of the popular anime Death Note.

Millions of fans from around the world were excited about the American adaptation of Death Note, a popular Japanese manga series. An awesome story plus Hollywood is usually a big hit, but this one might be the world Netflix Original this year.

For you who don’t know the storyline, here’s some background. A high school student named Light Turner finds a magical book and learns that it is linked to a death god named Ryuk, who tells him that he can kill anyone by writing their name in the book. Turner first uses his newfound power for revenge, then justice, and eventually for power.

Despite many deeper struggles within the story itself, the movie lacks seriousness by rushing through major developments. Light finds the book, meets Ryuk, gets a girlfriend and kills two or three people in less than a day without facing any sort of internal conflict. He accepted the death note, he accepted being a killer and showed to a girl he doesn’t know and we’re not even 15 minutes into the movie.

Hopefully, the overuse of facial expressions and movement was the director’s way of trying to give the movie a manga feel, but either way it was just awkward to watch a teenagers running across a room screaming at the top of his with his hands and legs in the air knocking everything over.

Even the music was off-setting. What is a jolly 80s-y rock ballad doing in the middle of a tragic scene?

The overall story is genius, but everything else is just too much, too casual and too fast. You’ll enjoy watching it once, but don’t get your expectations up.